Not one, not two, but three new models on sale here in New Zealand have today been awarded five-star ANCAP safety ratings; the Kia EV9, Mercedes-Benz EQE SUV, and the BMW 5 Series.
Starting things off with the Korean offering, the EV9 impressed with its car-to-car automatic emergency braking (AEB) and lane-keep assist systems, both of which earnt maximum points.
The three-row electric SUV held up well in destructive crash tests, achieving a mix of ‘Good’ and ‘Adequate’ results for adult and child occupant protection. ‘Marginal’ scores for both the protection of the driver’s chest in the oblique pole test and the rear passenger’s chest in the full-width test were also recorded.
A driver-monitoring system also comes fitted to the EV9 as standard which detects driver distraction over long and short periods, as well as drowsiness.
Moving on to the Germans, the EQE SUV was awarded maximum points for its ability to protect the driver in the side impact test, the front seat passenger in the frontal offset test, and for the protection of child occupants in both the side impact and frontal offset tests.
The model showed ‘Good’ levels of performance in the active lane keep assist test, as well as in the car-to-car, car-to-cyclist, and car-to-motorcycle AEB tests. It also comes with a reverse backover pedestrian-detecting AEB system which also recorded a ‘Good’ performance score.
Finally, the new BMW 5 Series and its electric i5 variant were awarded a five-star safety rating thanks to the models’ “strong” ability to protect vulnerable road users.
Other safety features found in the 5 include a driver-monitoring system and the ability for the doors and windows to be opened if the vehicle is submerged underwater for over two minutes.
